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Pleasure Island and West Side


Pleasure Island and West Side


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Pleasure Island logo button Walt Disney World

 Pleasure Island opened on May 1, 1989.  The Island has a backstory about how Merriweather Adam Pleasure "the wise fool, the mad visionary, the scoundrel, the scalawag and the seeker of enjoyment" lived here in the early 20th Century and created several industries before getting lost at sea sometime around 1941.  Pleasure Island was known for many years as the place where every night was celebrated as New Year's Eve.  This practice was discontinued in 2005.  Most of the clubs on the island closed in 2008 and in November of 2010, Disney announced the area would be themed as "Hyperion Wharf".  For admission prices through the years, go to the Transportation and Ticket Center.

Clubs

Adventurers Club:  One of the original Opening Day clubs that featured curios from Merriweather Adam Pleasure's world travels.  It closed on September 27, 2008.

BET Soundstage Club:  Formerly the Neon Armadillo, this club opened on June 10, 1998 and was named after the Black Entertainment Television network.  It featured R&B, hip-hop and rap music and served drinks and Caribbean-style food.  It closed on September 27, 2008.  

Cage: Formerly Videopolis East, this club opened April 7, 1990 and played music videos on 170 monitors.  It closed in December of 1992 and was replaced by 8TRAX.  

Comedy Warehouse:  An original Opening Day comedy club that closed September 27, 2008.  STK Orlando was later built on this site.

Pleasure Island Comedy Warehouse button Walt Disney World

8TRAX: Formerly Cage, this 70s (and some 80s) themed dance club opened December 31, 1992 and closed September 27, 2008.

Mannequins:  An Opening Day club that featured mannequins arranged around the club and a dance floor on a turntable.  It closed September 27, 2008 and was replaced by the Morimoto Asia restaurant.

Motion: Formerly the Wildhorse Saloon, this dance club operated from May 12, 2001 to September 27, 2008.  


Pleasure Island Jazz Company:  Replaced Merriweather's Market in 1993 and then closed in 2005 to become part of the Raglan Road Irish Pub.

Videopolis East:  Videopolis was one of the original Pleasure Island clubs.  It was originally The Artificial Intelligence Lab and was used by Merriweather's son Henry, "the mad genius of Lake Buena Vista".  Henry had been working on a project called The Pleasure Cellular Automaton.  When the building was rediscovered, the automaton was found alive.  The club featured new wave and alternative music with video screens. It was originally conceived as an East Coast cousin to Disneyland's Videopolis and was for guests under the age of  21.  On April 7, 1990, it became Cage but the decor was basically the same.  

XZFR Rockin' Rollerdrome: Island lore said that this building was where Mr. Pleasure indulged his passion in UFOs.  He built a wind tunnel and developed a flying machine called the "X-Thing" that operated on wind power and only flew once on September 1, 1940.  The ground floor was a dance floor and club goers could skate around on the second level and listen to a DJ suspended from the ceiling in a booth or be served by Cast Members on skates.  Disney lawyers must've had fits over all of the liability issues that could happen when tourists strap on skates!  The club was later reincarnated as the Rock N Roll Beach Club, which featured mostly cover bands before closing February 3, 2008.  Paradiso 37 was later built on the site.

Pleasure Island brochure Walt Disney World

Shops

Dick Tracy:  This shop was a tie-in with the film of the same name and was open during part of 1990.  

Front Page:  You could have your picture taken and put on the front of a magazine.  

Hammer and Fire:  Titanium jewelry, stoneware, and wall hangings were available here.


Mouse House: This character shop stocked the usual Walt Disney World souvenirs.

Propeller Heads: This arcade was open daily from 11 A.M. to 2 A.M.

Ridemakerz:  Located in the former Virgin Megastore building on the West Side, later became Splitsville Luxury Lanes.

Superstar Studios:  Lip sync your favorite songs here and make your own music video.

Virgin Megastore: West Side music and book store that was later Ridemakerz and then Splitsville Luxury Lanes.


Pleasure Island map Walt Disney World
(Brochure courtesy of Johnny Casella.)

Restaurants

Empress Lilly (Once Pleasure Island was constructed, this former Disney Village restaurant was included with Pleasure Island.)


Merriweather's Market: This place was a food court.  It closed in 1993 and later became the Pleasure Island Jazz Company.

Portobello Yacht Club:  A Levy Restaurant that served regional Italian cuisine.  It was later known as Portobello Country Italian Trattoria and was renovated in the fall of 2017 into Terralina Crafted Italian.

Sweet Surrender: This soft serve ice cream and yogurt place was next to Avigators Supply.

Wildhorse Saloon:  This barbeque restaurant and country dance club opened in May 31, 1998 and closed in February 25, 2001.  It was replaced by Motion.

Wildhorse Saloon Exterior Pleasure Island Walt Disney World



TASCHEN


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See ya real soon!